Loving Jemima

10. She just gets me

Matty

We sat in the waiting room, Jem sitting between max and I, I still wasn't a hundred percent sure why he was even here to be honest, usually I took Jem to check ups and appointments on my own. He'd been fussing over her all week. He sat holding her hand and I tapped my thumbs together nervously, I was more nervous this time for some reason, maybe Jem could tell and that's why she said max could come too. I know she was noticing how I wasn't coping even though I was trying my best not to let it show. A nurse called her into a room and max and I waited together.

"So umm what are they doing now?" Max asked, he seemed genuinely interested, he'd been asking more questions the last few days in the run up
"It's just like a pre appointment thing, she won't be long, I think it's just a quick chat and they take the bloods now so they can rush most of them through, weigh her for a base line. They'll phone with the results that take longer."
"Right and then she goes to see the doctor?" I nodded at him, he bounced his knee nervously and I watched him as he stared at the door Jem had disappeared into, it opened and Jem shuffled in.
"All ok?" I asked, she nodded not looking at me "Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?"
" maybe" she said shuffling her feet, I could tell now that she was just as nervous as me. "Can you both come?" She asked still not looking at me "I mean max has seen me in a bikini, it's not really any different Matty. I got a crop top on under here and my girlie boxer short type underpants, not skimpy ones, didn't think the doc would want to see my nice ones, I went tom boy" she tried to joke.
"I'm fine with that if you are Matty? She walks around in those boxer short things all the time at home." Max asked me taking Jem's tiny hand in his large one once again. I agreed to whatever she wanted, she was more comfortable around the boys since she and Sandra had discovered the 'boy pants' as she called them on a shopping trip she'd taken her on for a girls day.

The three of us followed the nurse into the room where Jem had to strip down to her underwear and sit on a bed to be inspected. I could already tell she'd lost weight again by just looking at her but it was no where near as bad as what I was expecting to see or as bad as it was before, she was just a little on the skinny side. She'd been avoiding the pool with Laura being around, she'd not long had her cast taken off her ankle because it was pretty messed up and had to have a different special cast on, so pool time was out of the question until recently. She'd been wearing the boy pants and a baggy shirt as none of us wanted to see her walking around in her bra. I think deep down I was still coming to terms with the fact that my little baby sister had to wear a damn bra because she had boobs now, since she'd put weight back on they'd got more obvious again. "Matty can you not do that please" she ushered quietly when she caught me looking her over, I apologised and averted my eyes. She had definitely lost weight since the last time I helped her take a bath with her cast on.

The doctor came in and prodded and poked her, measuring her in every way possible. Then pulled a curtain to block our view as he examined her in more detail.  "What's he doing now? Why'd they pull the curtain closed? She alright on own?" Max whispered worriedly, I explained and he nodded, his knee bouncing nervously once more. The doctor sat clicking at his computer while Jem put her clothes back on, then pulled the curtain open. The doctor didn't say much other than he wanted to do some more tests and wanted Jem to see some other doctors while we waited for some of the blood tests, it looked like we were going to be here a while, Jem looked visibly upset by the prospect, I presume they had said something to her that they hadn't told us perhaps. We went back to the waiting room and waited for instruction.

"Did he say anything?" I asked eventually when Jem hadn't said a word, choosing to stand staring out a window instead of sitting with us, she shrugged not turning around. Max got up giving her a hug from behind.
"You can tell us" he told her, the door opened and Jem was ushered away with a nurse and max came and sat back next to me. "Is this normal...I mean the extra tests and doctors" I shook my head worriedly at him "Oh, what do you think..."
"I don't know max! That's why we're bloody here isn't it! We know there's something wrong we just don't know what!" I snapped "look you can go if you want, looks like we're gonna be here a while"
"No, I told her I'd stay" he said bouncing his knee again nervously, trying but failing miserably to control his twitches